Call Kurtis: When Insurance Companies Can’t Agree On Who’s At Fault

May 7, 2014 5:37 PMBy Kurtis Ming

Jimmy Price of Modesto said another driver opened her door into the side of his truck as he was pulling into a parking spot. The other driver's insurance company believes Price is at fault, and sent him to collections for the damage to the other driver's car.

MODESTO (CBS13) — Involved in a parking lot fender bender, Jimmy Price thought his insurance would have him covered.

But months after the accident, his insurance company and that of the other driver don’t agree on who caused the accident.

When the other insurance company sent him to collections for $3,400, he wondered whether he should be stuck with a bill, if the insurance companies couldn’t come to an agreement.

Price said he was pulling into a parking spot when the driver of a silver Chevrolet sedan opened her door into the right side of his truck.

Price thought it was clear he was the victim, he said, showing Call Kurtis the large curved dent in his fender.

“You can actually even see the way [the other driver’s] door is curved,” he said. “How is that my fault?”

But when the insurance companies got involved, each said its driver was not legally responsible for causing the accident.

Price said the other driver’s insurer, Allstate, sent him to collections for more than $3,400 to cover the other driver’s damage.

“It’s turning into a nightmare now,” Price said.

The California Department of Insurance’s Nancy Kincaid said drivers should never get a collections notice from another insurance company, unless their insurance doesn’t know about the collision in the first place.

“It doesn’t make sense for [Price] to get a collection letter,” she said. “It sounds like the insurance companies probably haven’t connected the way that they should.”

We reached out to Price’s insurer, National General.

A company spokesperson told Call Kurtis it didn’t know why Price was sent to collections.

“I don’t know why Allstate did what they did,” the spokesperson said. “As soon as we found out, we let Allstate know all claims should go through us.”

Allstate refused to explain any specifics, but said Call Kurtis had not heard the whole story.

“The information that you have been provided is not factual,” a spokesperson said. “We dont have any response to erroneous claims.”

National General said its now defending Price against that collections notice.

Still wanting his truck fixed, too — Price is considering taking Allstate to small claims court, he said.

“Something like this has never happened to me,” he said.

What complicates things here is Price had the most basic insurance that only covered damage he causes in a crash.

If Price had insurance to cover his own damage, his insurance company would have covered it, and then it would have had to figure it out with Allstate after.